Group Intervention

Unwrapping Victoria, July 2015

Chicago-based Didier Morelli curated an evening of public performances, Entre Chien et Loup, a walking trajectory which featured contemplative and subtly rabble-rousing works that reconsidered monumental sculptures and sites in the downtown core of Montreal. Alongside performances by Adriana Disman, Chrstian Bujold, François Morelli and Étienne Tremblay-Tardiff, I played off of the two Queen Victoria statues, creating a link between the financial district (the supposed seat of power) and the McGill University campus (the supposed seat of knowledge and privilege) in a piece that questioned positions and (im)balances of authority, power and hierarchy. As part of the conference Vital Memories, being presented by The Performance Studies Focus Group (Pre-ATHE conference), an audience of over fifty followed us around as we criss-crossed the streets with our performative actions.

Bodies of Water, June 2014

I live in Verdun, Quebec. The St-Lawrence river is my neighbour. It is a powerful presence that compels, contains and delineates this part of town. Along the river, I proposed a group walk: an invitation for few or many to join me in a consciously constructed trajectory on the bike path and the river’s edge. Bodies meeting in unison where sounds, movements, silence and stillness could simultaneously take place (our bodies of water next to this one). Bodies of Water was part of the event Les Voisins, a Festival of Urban Actions curated by Eric Mattson and produced by Les Productions MINUTE. See more images here. Read Vince Tinguely’s thoughtful piece about his experience of taking part in the walk here.

How We Stop Traffic, May 2014

As part of the Foire d’art alternative de Sudbury (FAAS 4), I was invited to give a “Collective Creation Workshop.” Taking place in the Rainbow Centre shopping mall in downtown Sudbury, the resulting day of performative exercises resulted in a poetic and meditative, spontaneous choreography, blocking the main entranceway to the mall. Done in collaboration with Mercedes Cueto, Collette Jacques, Francine Plante, and Elyse Portal. See more images here.

(Being) One Thing at a Time, 2003-2008

The (Being) One Thing at a Time series came out of my interest in responding specifically to a selection of public sites across the island of Montreal. Initiated in 2003, and carried out until 2008, artists and non-artists alike were invited to join me in creating contemporary living tableaux through the performance of meditative, physical actions that would subtly impress upon the urban landscape and surrounding architecture. Proposing to open up a dialogue between the body and the spaces it traverses, I attempted to impose slightly transgressive, collective actions – bewildering (or questionable) gestures in unexpected, or just plain banal places. Due to a widespread enthusiasm for a few of these interventions, some ended up being re-enacted in additional locations both within Montreal and across Canada. See more images here.

Drug, Welcome, ESSEN, part of (Being) One Thing at a Time, Montreal, 2003

Drug, Welcome, ESSEN, part of (Being) One Thing at a Time, St-John’s, NL, 2005

The ESSEN Performances, 2003-2007

The performance, ESSEN (German or Yiddish: to eat), is part of a larger series of ongoing process-based public art actions called (Being) One Thing at a Time. Each performance in the series creates an opportunity to pay close attention and to slow down time. Since the beginning of (Being),ESSEN has kind of taken on a life of its own. See more on the installation here and more images here.

ESSEN invites pairs of participants to sit across from each other at a table, in the sharing of a meal at a restaurant. This playful and meditative performance insists that one is not permitted to feed oneself but instead be fed by one’s dining partner (drinking independently is allowed!). As a performance, ESSEN addresses a theme that has occurred in much of my artistic work over the last number of years – my contentious relationship to food (and eating). Inviting others to take part is an opportunity to include the insight of others into my ongoing enquiry: what are some common characteristics and quirks in how we relate to eating? And how does a person develop their particular relationship to food? To date, I’ve shared meals in Montreal, Ottawa, St. John’s, NL, Toronto and Vancouver. With each unfolding, the performance never ceases to reveal new insights – and inadvertently sets the stage for joyous, celebratory, and transformative encounters.

Drug, Welcome, ESSEN, part of (Being) One Thing at a Time, Ottawa, 2005